Acts 6:12-15 (NIV)
So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
These “devout” Jews were frustrated and enraged by their own inability to defeat Stephen logically in matters of faith, and at their powerlessness in the face of his ability to work miracles. They believed that they were the correct ones, the spiritual ones, the ones who were loved by God. But the facts militated against their beliefs.
Rather than admit that their beliefs might be incorrect, they blindly chose the same path that the high priests had followed with regard to Jesus.: they seized Stephen, recruited false witnesses, and marched him before the Sanhedrin. In their sinfulness and anger, they saw no inconsistency between their supposed righteousness and the fact that bearing false witness or recruiting others to bear false witness was solidly against God’s law. They believed one of satan’s most reliable lies: that the ends justify the means.
The false witnesses, like most false witnesses, had a bit of the truth mixed in with their lies to give them more credibility. Jesus had indeed said that the temple would soon be destroyed, that not one stone would be left on top of another (Matthew 24:1-2), a prophecy which would be fulfilled to the letter in AD 70. And Jesus did put far more emphasis on obeying both the letter and the spirit of the law, while deemphasizing the “traditions of the elders” that had grown up over the centuries and had actually obscured or warped the true commands.
The fact that Stephen taught what Jesus had said about these things was not really a crime, especially not one punishable by death. So, they warped their reporting to point to Stephen as one who was “speaking against” the temple and the law, which had the potential to shade over into the capital crime of blasphemy.
When the Sanhedrin looked at Stephen to see his reaction to these charges, they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. It is important to note that the angels that the Jews knew were nothing like the peaceful, feminized angels that have been popularized by paintings and Christmas cards. The faces of the real angels were intimidating, even terrifying in their awful dignity and fierce holiness. When these men saw Stephen’s face, they were not thinking of how beautiful or serene he looked. Their hearts were filled with a sudden dread as they saw the strength, power, and determination reflected there.
Father, this points out clearly the corruption that sin brings to both the heart and the mind. It twists reason to the point where a person or group of people can be persuaded that wrong can be right, that sin can be considered righteous as long as it leads to the right outcome. But Lord, You never tell us that the ends justify the means. You never support the idea that evil can be done so that righteousness can ultimately triumph. Instead, Your word contains a continual clarion call for Your people to be genuinely holy in thought, word, and deed. But we can only live that way by Your strength and by Your power working in us. Help us to rely wholly on You, so that we can live Your way every day. Amen.
If you are enjoying my blog, I invite you to check out my book, When We Listen, A Devotional Commentary on the Gospel of Mark. Just follow this url: http://eagerpress.webstarts.com/ Thanks, and God bless you all!